Tech leaders call for greater NSA transparency

Chief executives from leading tech companies on Wednesday called for greater transparency over what user data is collected from governments in the name of security.

At “The New Digital Context” session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Yahoo
/quotes/zigman/59898/delayed/quotes/nls/yhooYHOO boss Marissa Mayer said the Obama administration needs to more clearly identify what kind of data are collected by the U.S. National Security Agency and what they are used for, in order to restore confidence in the sector both in the U.S. and internationally.

“[We need it] so we can help our users understand exactly how many requests we are getting and the range of types of requests we are getting [...] We need to be able to rebuild trust with our users,” she said.

“Usually when you make a trade-off for privacy, it’s very clear what is being looked for and how the information is being used. When you go through security at the airport or when you sign up for a driver’s licence, you know exactly what you are disclosing to the government and you know what you get in exchange. I think what’s murky about some of what’s happening today is that people don’t necessarily know what information is being collected and how it’s being used.”

“Only through the concept of transparency will we get back to trust,” he said. “If everybody saw the details [of the surveillance programs] they would probably be completely comfortable. But because we don’t know what the detail is, that’s what causes the concern. How can you trust something you don’t know? Nobody likes the unknown, so that’s why it needs to get opened up.”

So to what extent should data be protected? All of it? Half? BT Group
/quotes/zigman/290858/realtimeUK:BTA CEO Gavin Patterson said 100% privacy would be unlikely, because it would mean 0% national security.

“I think when it comes down to it, people recognize they have to give up some of that privacy in order to be protected,” he said.

Another approach is letting the users have a stronger say in the level of privacy. Randall Stephenson, CEO at AT & T
/quotes/zigman/398198/delayed/quotes/nls/tT, welcomed the transparency debate, noting that users need to dictate themselves how they want to own the data.

“We came out of 9/11 in 2001 and the pendulum really swung toward security,” he said. “Now people are saying security vs. privacy, there’s a balance here. And I think at the end of the day the customer needs to have a lot to say in where that pendulum sits.”